Industry

A trio of advisors leaves the wirehouse for the independent channel at Raymond James.

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Rival Edward Jones has grown and wants to keep on growing.

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"If we don't grow, then we abdicate that opportunity to our competition," says James Weddle, managing partner of Edward Jones, which hopes to surpass Morgan Stanley as the industry's largest brokerage by headcount.

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Customers continue to be underwhelmed by banks’ customer service. Even worse, young customers see very little difference in services from one bank to another.

The wirehouse lured away a team that managed $750 million from Barclays, which recently announced a deal to sell its U.S. wealth management division to Stifel.

The wirehouses aren't fading yet, but many independents argue that these firms will need to change dramatically to retain market share.

"We want our planners to feel unsettled when their clients are unsettled," says Grant Rawdin, who has built a $2 billion firm on specialized, deep advice.